Even shoeshine boys warn about “global imbalances” these days. The truth is that the concept is little understood. In so far as they show up in current accounts, imbalances have actually moderated post-crisis. Time to stop worrying? Not quite. The International Monetary Fund calculates that, as a percentage of global output, the difference between the average current account balances of deficit countries (such as the US, Ireland, UK and Spain) versus surplus countries (such as Japan, China, Germany and oil exporting nations) halved in 2009 compared with the years from 2005 to 2008. That looks comforting. But this readjustment was narrowly focused. Most was due to US consumers saving more in the recession and to falling asset prices. Cheaper oil also helped, both by denting the value of oil exports as well as reducing outflows in deficit countries.
如今，就连擦鞋的伙计都在警告人们当心“manbetx app苹果 失衡”。而实际情况是，人们对这一概念却一无所知。就经常账户所反映出的情况而言，后危机时代的失衡实际上有所缓解。那么现在可以放心了吗？不尽然。根据国际货币基金组织(IMF)的计算，与2005年至2008年的数字相比，赤字国家（如美国、爱尔兰、英国和西班牙）与盈余国家（如日本、manbetx3.0 、德国和石油输出国）在平均经常账户余额方面的差值相对manbetx app苹果 产出的百分比，在2009年下降了一半。局面看起来令人欣慰。但这种再调整只集中在有限领域。主要原因是美国消费者在衰退期间提高储蓄，以及资产价格下跌。油价走低对此也有帮助，它既降低了石油出口的价值，又减少了赤字国家的资金外流额。